Readers Think, Watchers Click

I found reading Mara E. Vatz's commentary on a report by the National Endowment for the Arts both depressing and inspiring. (See: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/blog.asp?blogID=1487 ). In a nutshell, the study at issue shows that reading for pleasure is on the decline.  It also points out that the subset of the population that does read, is the portion of the population that contributes the most to civilization.

As a fiction author, okay--that's depressing. Who wants to know that one is "playing" to a shrinking audience?

As a reader, on the other hand, it is nice to know that my growing impression that I am not likely to enjoy a conversation with anyone who hasn't read a book of his or her own free will in the last six months, is not a mere figment of my imagination.

On balance I think .... there are an awful lot of people in the world. If readers are less than 50% of them at the moment, that still amounts to a lot of people. And if it is going to be the readers or the non-readers who make the world turn (by being proactive instead of apathetic) then I am glad it is the readers who are in the driver's seat.

 

As for the "optics" in a world that seems increasingly obsessed with the "more is better" stampede, I recommend we found a Readers Pride organization. We could make T-shirts that say: "Readers Think, Watchers Click".

The irony here is that most people consider me a techno-guru. I work in educational technology and have owned a computer since the TRS-80. I have a Masters in Computational Science and I consider dabbling in Flash Animation programming to be entertaining. But the kind of integrated, whole-meal-deal stimulation I get from a good book is still unparalleled for me as a mental experience. It is to books I retreat for solice and to deepen my understanding of the universe.  When I read a good book, I feel as if I've had an exciting conversation with the author that has expanded me as a human being.

Since I seem to have one foot, firmly, in each world I find myself deeply puzzled some days. How is it that so many people view the issue as an "either/or" affair?